Sports Beat

SPORTS BEAT

By Rich Briggs
The Weekly Recorder
April 11, 2008

*Last week, Ken Bonnell responded to my remarks about Terrelle Pryor, which was in response to something he had written earlier. Ken, we can agree to disagree on this matter. When I mentioned that Pryor did not seek the spotlight, that was a quote from the young man, not me. He said as much during his press conference when he announced he was going to Ohio State.

My point is this – I work with kids like Pryor everyday. Yes, they seek attention. These are kids going through adolescence and do not always make the right decisions. We are still talking about kids who are 17 and 18 years of age making decisions that are going to affect, at least, the next four years of their lives, provided they do not exit college early for the NFL or NBA drafts. That is another matter entirely.

Pryor ran afoul of the law on some occasions and I do not condone that. He made many mistakes during the basketball season by falling for the taunts from opposing crowds. He should have done not that, either. By all accounts, this is a good kid who made mistakes while going through the recruiting process, and we all know what kind of a meat market that is. I don’t blame the kid for having every camera and microphone in his face. He is physically and athletically gifted and his talents were on display every Friday night for the last four years.

Again, it was not fair to the kid for us to demand that he make his college decision on our timeline. I don’t care what your source/s told you. If his dad persuaded him to go to Ohio State, so be it. I believe that was a proper choice. Jim Tressel is an outstanding football coach and Ohio State is a tremendous university. I believe there are two words why Pryor did not go to Penn State – Joe Paterno. JoePa is a legend, but his future plans are tying a lot of things up. There is no guarantee that Tom Bradley is JoePa’s heir apparent. Pryor wanted to go somewhere where the coach was going to be there his entire career. There is no guarantee that Paterno is going to last another four years at Penn State.

Regardless of that situation, I wish Pryor the best. If the young man wants to play in front of packed houses every Saturday afternoon, or evening, so be it. More power to him. I believe we have more pressing matters in this country to deal with than worrying about where a high school football player, albeit the #1 recruit in the country, ends up playing his college ball. Now that the decision has been made, I wish him nothing but the best and the rest of us can get on with our lives and much more important matters.

*The Penguins ended their season Sunday in Philadelphia with a 2 – 0 loss, which means they have the number two seed in the Eastern Conference and home ice advantage throughout, at least, the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Montreal earned the top seed and will have home ice as long as they stay alive. I believe, if they get that far, that the Pens and Canadiens would stage an incredible conference final. However, there is always a chance that Montreal could be upset before the Pens would play them. If that happens, then the Penguins would still have home ice advantage throughout the playoffs in the conference. Either way, this promises to be one of the most exciting Stanley Cup playoffs in a long time.

The Penguins’ first round opponent will be the Ottawa Senators. Ottawa eliminated the Penguins last year in the first round and ended up in the Stanley Cup finals opposite the eventual champion Anaheim Ducks. This year, however, the Senators are struggling. The Pens are beginning to fire on all cylinders and have gotten nearly everyone back from injury. Couple that with the new additions of Marian Hossa, Pascal Dupuis, and Hal Gill, and this team has the makeup for a very formidable run. They will have opened the playoffs Wednesday night at home. Good Luck and Let’s Go Pens!

*The Pirates began their home schedule this week with their home opener and lost that one in extra innings to the Chicago Cubs. The Pirates are hovering around .500 as the season opens, but this is very early and must be put into perspective. I have stated before, and I also had a conversation with one of my colleagues, that all of the window dressing in the world is not going to change on the product on the field.

There is a new management team in place and they are trying to change the culture of the team and the franchise. This is all well and good; however, if the product on the field doesn’t change, nothing else matters. It’s like my colleague said, “You can’t win the Kentucky Derby on a mule.”

It is painful to have watched all of this futility over the years and nothing has changed. There have been four managers since 1997 and none of them has been able to get this team over the hump. The reason is that the talent has never been there. The team is trying to reinvent the wheel and it does not work that way. Painting a wooden house does not change the wood underneath. No matter the color, the wood is still brown. This team needs more talent, but the ownership is not going to pay for it. As long as that happens, things will remain the same on the field.

Poor fundamentals are one of the issues plaguing this team. Basic things that are learned in Little League have been forgotten by members of this ball club. I cannot blame coaching for this entire mess. At some point, the players have to take responsibility for their play, or else get rid of some of these players and call up some of the kids from the minors. They cannot possibly do any worse. At some point, you have to cut your losses and move on. I am hoping that the 2008 Pirates give us something to hang our hats on, or this franchise may never get out of the depths of despair.

*While my Final Four picks did not make the championship game Monday night (UCLA, North Carolina), Kansas and Memphis gave us a game for the ages for the national championship. They battled back and forth and a three point shot with 2.1 seconds left in regulation made by Kansas’ Mario Chalmers put the game into overtime. The Jayhawks would then go onto win the 2008 national title, on the 20th anniversary of their last title team from 1988.

The NCAA Tournament is the epitome of what college sports are all about. The teams turn it up a few notches because they know a loss will send them home. The four best teams made it to the Final Four and, I believe, the best team won the championship.

I was a glutton for punishment Monday night and stayed up (late) to watch overtime and to see a champion be crowned. I paid for it on Tuesday morning, but it was well worth it. When a championship is at stake, sometimes you have to sacrifice a little sleep to watch a tremendous event, which is what took place.

The college basketball season is now over. While college spring sports are taking place, they do not receive the kind of exposure that basketball and football receive. The next major college sport will be the College World Series, then it will be summer before college football teams go to camp and we go through the ritual of football season all over again. Not that that is going to hurt my feelings.

However, my hat’s off to the Kansas Jayhawks for winning the national championship for 2008. It is a title well deserved. Congratulations, Kansas, and enjoy the moment!